Chapter 10

If the arrogant Yu Sui had simply chosen no one, they wouldn’t have had any complaints. But he had rejected them while disparaging them all, only to turn around and pick the captain instead.

They were all 3S Alphas. Were they really that worthless?

Their pride as Alphas had taken a serious hit.

Jiang Nianxing gazed at Yu Sui as he spoke, and he immediately regretted his words. It made him sound so petty.

Yu Sui’s sleepiness had completely vanished. He watched as Jiang Nianxing fumed with anger over missing his chance to mess with him, and he felt like spitting blood.

“Bro, can’t it be me?” Shen Anliu’s good mood evaporated the moment he heard about He Baiyan’s pairing.

He had told himself not to get his hopes up, but how could he possibly suppress the thoughts bubbling up inside him?

If Yu Sui had chosen no one, he would have quietly remained a loyal sidekick. But of all things…

Seeing Shen Anliu speak up, Lu Jinxia followed suit and asked Yu Sui why he wouldn’t do.

He Baiyan hadn’t expected them all to invite Yu Sui.

The thought that the young man had only agreed to pair with him filled him with a strange sense of vanity.

Alphas were naturally competitive by nature, and now he had outdone every other teammate.

“You all need to respect Yu Sui’s choices.” But with the group pressing him so aggressively, He Baiyan spoke up to interrupt.

“That’s easy for you to say.” There had never been much camaraderie on the team to begin with, and now Jiang Nianxing found him even more irritating.

Yu Sui’s head began to throb. He asked the System what he should do.

[We need to be flexible with the tasks. We don’t have to follow the original plot’s sequence.] The System replied.

“So?”

[You’ve already agreed to pair with them anyway. There’s a plot later where they team up to get revenge on you, so jumping ahead won’t hurt. The most important thing is that the protagonists get their fun.]

“That’s not even a little humane,” Yu Sui gritted out.

[The tasks that get completed will show up as green marks, and finishing them sooner means more energy overall.] The System explained.

Yu Sui felt his hesitation melt away. He lifted his gaze to meet theirs. “You all want to buddy up to me that badly? Fine. I’ll give you one chance.”

“Huh?” Jiang Nianxing blinked in stunned surprise. “You… you mean…?”

He Baiyan looked astonished. He eyed Yu Sui oddly, noting how the other man still held his head high with that arrogant air, as if he were bestowing a great favor upon them. He sighed inwardly.

He truly hadn’t realized what this signified.

“You… you…” Lu Jinxia opened and closed his mouth. “You and us…?”

Shen Anliu’s face lit up with joy. “Bro, does that mean I can?”

Yu Sui turned to look at the adoring expression on the young man’s face, and warmth bloomed in his chest. Only his little angel was truly this sweet.

“Mm.” He nodded.

“I’m so happy!” The young man didn’t bother hiding his excitement.

Jiang Nianxing had already calmed down. He blinked his eyes. “Guess that’s that, then.”

He sounded reluctant, but he didn’t raise a fuss anymore. Instead, he sat back down in his seat and went online to search for QueerbaitingPairing guides.

Lu Jinxia fell silent too, picking at his palms as he mentally plotted how to get closer.

The young man had a sharp tongue, but he was his medicine, after all.

And just like that, the matter was hastily settled.

The manager only asked about it once. Upon hearing that everyone had chosen Yu Sui, he immediately understood.

He’d heard about the little frictions between the members, and Yu Sui was no pushover either. But the company had always turned a blind eye to their discord, so naturally, he wouldn’t interfere.

They had clearly put up with the young man for a while now and planned to use this opportunity for payback.

That would make for great show content, wouldn’t it?

The manager felt completely at ease.

The live stream setup was in their lounge, handled by professionals, so they didn’t need to worry about it.

After the meeting, they headed off to practice on their own.

Yu Sui had been assigned to the gaming interaction segment, which required no rehearsal whatsoever.

He idly played on his phone for a bit until a delivery notification popped up. He stood.

“Bro, what’s up?” Shen Anliu asked, puzzled.

“Nothing. Just heading to the bathroom.” Yu Sui certainly wasn’t about to mention picking up a package. What if they got suspicious too early?

The others watched him leave.

“Why do you call him ‘bro’?” Jiang Nianxing asked curiously.

Under that stare, Shen Anliu averted his eyes guiltily. “I’m his little sidekick, so…”

“Shouldn’t it be ‘Big Bro,’ then? Sounds way cooler,” Jiang Nianxing said, puzzled.

Lu Jinxia twitched an eyelid. This guy really was an idiot.

He knew about AA Romance. Watching Shen Anliu’s reactions around Yu Sui, Lu Jinxia was absolutely certain that he had a thing for Yu Sui—he was an Alpha-lover.

He Baiyan said nothing, though his fingers paused briefly before he resumed writing.

Yu Sui sneaked his way to the company mailroom and rummaged for the clothes he’d ordered.

He took the elevator straight back to his dorm.

After thoroughly destroying the packaging, Yu Sui examined the plain white T-shirt. Nothing special about it.

But he didn’t dare rip it forcefully.

He stashed the shirt in his closet. The System’s words had sparked ideas, so he had no intention of returning to the lounge.

If tasks didn’t need to follow the timeline and finishing them early yielded more energy, then maybe he could…

[Theoretically, you could knock out all the tasks in a single day. But this route has a ton of playthroughs scattered across different locations and stimuli—they’re not all clustered here at the company.] The System showed him some later playthroughs. [Still, you can reference them. What if you miss the timing?]

He glimpsed apartment kitchens, balconies, bathrooms, post-performance lounges…

Yu Sui felt like he needed to bleach his eyes.

But he did glean some insights from it.

“For the stage one, we’d have to perform, or it’d be impossible to trigger.”

[Exactly. Some playthroughs require specific conditions or timings—like Valentine’s or birthdays, which can’t be altered.] The System continued. [Others can be triggered flexibly.]

Yu Sui picked out all the company-based ones.

“One more issue: their progress is moving kind of slow right now.”

[That’s why we give them a nudge.] The System said. [Like shifting some of the later romance-building playthroughs forward.]

“Do they even have any foundation for that? Will it even work if I do this?” Yu Sui asked, confused.

[Have faith in the protagonists’ chemistry and the plot’s power.] The System gave an example. [Like in some stories where the gong can’t get over his mental block—until he meets the shou, and boom, full recovery. That’s the bond between protagonists.]

“Is it a bond or just a plot device…” Yu Sui’s eyelid twitched.

[This is that kind of route, after all. The physical stuff takes priority over emotions. Don’t worry—familiarity breeds affection.]

Yu Sui caught the implication and wanted to die a little.

But if the System said so, he’d go bold.

He pulled up a playthrough from the plot.

The cannon fodder wants to embarrass the perfect protagonist shou, so he hides all his underwear, plans to snap pics of him going commando, and spreads rumors that he’s some pervert who doesn’t wear any.

One of the protagonist gongs finds out, personally buys clothes for the shou, watches him change—and before long, the clothes are all gone…

Yu Sui could only think that the plot was utterly ridiculous.

Talk about throwing logic out for the spice.

He opened Shen Anliu’s closet, found the drawer with his underthings, and—with a black trash bag and a look of disgust—stuffed it all inside.

He didn’t even spare the ones on the balcony.

Then he sneaked off to dump the trash.

Shen Anliu and the others practiced their group dance a bit more. They tacitly ignored Yu Sui’s absence.

They wrapped up early today—the live stream was the real priority.

Everyone headed back to the dorms to freshen up.

Shen Anliu opened the door to find the dorm quiet and Yu Sui absent.

He’d worked up a sweat and couldn’t stand it anymore. He went to grab some clothes for a shower, only to discover all his underwear had vanished.

What the hell? Shen Anliu wondered, baffled.

He checked the balcony—nothing there either.

Whatever. Shower first.

He grabbed some sleepwear and headed into the bathroom.

Yu Sui had been hiding at the stairwell the whole time. Once he saw Shen Anliu enter the room, he emerged—but he didn’t go in. Instead, he lurked at the door, peeking inside surreptitiously.

Shen Anliu made do with what he had, his ears turning red with embarrassment at the thought of Yu Sui seeing him like this.

He pushed open the bathroom door and saw the young man wasn’t there. He breathed a small sigh of relief.

He kept searching, but there wasn’t a single pair left behind.

His other clothes were all accounted for—only the underwear was missing…

Shen Anliu suspected some creep was on the loose in the company.

His were gone— what about Yu Sui’s?

With that thought, he pulled out his phone to message Yu Sui.

Yu Sui’s phone buzzed in his pocket at the door. He jolted in fright, quickly silenced it, and retreated toward the stairs.

Shen Anliu glanced toward the door. Had he just heard a phone ringtone?

Leaning against the wall, Yu Sui read Shen Anliu’s message and arched a brow.

[WeChat] Shen Anliu: Bro, where are you?

[WeChat] Shen Anliu: I think someone broke into our dorm. My underwear got stolen. Hurry back and check yours.

His little angel was even reminding him. Too bad—he was the underwear thief.

[WeChat] Yu Sui: What? That’s crazy!

[WeChat] Shen Anliu: Um, Bro, when you come back, could you bring me something?

Shen Anliu’s cheeks flushed as he made the request.

Going out like this would make him look like a total freak.

As if Yu Sui would help.

[WeChat] Yu Sui: No time. Super busy. Can’t the other teammates help?

He left it at that and pocketed his phone.

In the original plot, Jiang Nianxing stepped in. Who knew if it would change now. Either way, the dorm was off-limits for the moment.

Yu Sui figured he’d wander downstairs to kill time.

But as soon as the elevator doors opened, there was Jiang Nianxing—carrying a bag.

Yu Sui was surprised by his speed. This is way too fast.

Looks like they’ve had feelings for each other for a long time.

He nodded slightly and was about to enter the elevator.

“I have something to tell you.” Jiang Nianxing stepped out of the elevator, his ears red. “This is for you.”

He handed over the gift somewhat embarrassedly.

These are the cookies he made himself.

“What are you talking about?” Yu Sui retreated in shock, completely baffled—what did it mean to give him the underwear bought for the Protagonist Shou?

“I… what’s wrong with me?” Jiang Nianxing looked utterly innocent.

[Based on your character, you don’t even need to guess who did it—he clearly said that on purpose to test you.] the System said, [Your acting was just right, full of flaws.]

So that’s how it is? He’d say something so explosive…

“So what if I did it?” Yu Sui became utterly unrestrained.

“Hm?” Jiang Nianxing blinked, looking a bit confused.

“So what if I stole all of Shen Anliu’s underwear? What can you do to me?” He taunted again.

“What?!” Jiang Nianxing said in surprise, “Why did you steal his underwear? You… don’t have money to buy it?”

After hearing this, Yu Sui wanted to spit blood.

Is this right? Is this the main point? What about my question?

Group——

Jiang Nianxing: Come out quick, big announcement!

Lu Jinxia: What?

He Baiyan: ?

Shen Anliu: What?

Jiang Nianxing: Yu Sui is actually quite pitiful. He can’t even afford underwear.

Yu Sui: ……

Yu Sui: ?? Ahhhh!